JDSU debuts remote tester for monitoring FTTx to ultra long-haul networks

JANUARY 30, 2007 -- JDSU (search for JDSU) recently introduced the OTU-8000, a rack-mounted, remote test unit for its optical network management system (ONMS) that integrates the latest optical time-domain reflectometry (search for OTDR) and optical switch technologies. 

Based on JDSU's MTS/T-BERD 8000, a single OTU-8000 can test hundreds of fiber links within a large (40,000 km²) area and report any faults relative to the nearest physical landmark, say company representatives. With this addition, JDSU claims to be the only test and measurement provider to offer a proprietary portfolio of critical remote fiber test equipment for fiber networks (from FTTx to ultra long haul), including an optical switch, OTDR, mapping software, and passive components.
 
The JDSU OTU-8000's wide range of applications helps carriers decrease operational costs by eliminating erroneous field technician dispatches, reducing mean-time-to-repair (MTTR), and anticipating service disruption by detecting fiber degradation before service is affected, note company representatives. The product also monitors the long-term performance of installed fibers and, for organizations concerned about network security, detects and locates fiber tapping.
 
"JDSU's ONMS is already ahead of the competition because it ensures that what the telecommunications or cable operator sees in its network map is the same as what is actually in the network," explains Enzo di Luigi, general manager of JDSU's Fiber Optics Communications Test and Measurement Group. "By adding the powerful OTU-8000, network operators can attain a higher level of reliability, efficiency, and cost savings using a compact test unit that has low power consumption."
 
The OTU-8000 can house two field-interchangeable OTDR modules and monitors active fibers using a 1625-nm module designed to take into account factors such as the Raman effect of the optical amplifier. The dual-power feeds provide an alternate power input in the event of one power source failure. All configurations are saved on the OTU-8000's solid state disk, and when the server is not available, alarms can still be sent directly to the user via e-mail or SMS. Provisioning of the OTU-8000 is easily accomplished using any on-site or remote web browser, says the company.
 
JDSU's ONMS resides on a server or desktop and includes optical fiber mapping (OFM) software that enables customers to address the state of the network from their fingertips. Automated mapping, facilities management, and geographic information system (AM/FM/GIS) consolidates data entered manually or through other applications. All fiber-optic network documentation--including fiber route maps, distribution panel graphics, and OTDR traces--can be easily retrieved, cross-referenced, and shared among multiple users, say JDSU representatives. Network operators have access to all of their networks' geographic and functional components and can track, document, and monitor an unlimited number of circuit wavelengths for each physical fiber path, allowing users to initiate queries from any physical point in the network.

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